The Vanishing Act: What to Do When Your Cursor Suddenly Disappears in Excel 'my cursor is gone'

Have you ever been mid-spread when suddenly, poof! The cursor that was so helpfully pointing out where you could click and type has vanished into thin air? Don't worry; this frustrating phenomenon isn't exclusive to Mac users. If your mouse pointer seems to have developed a case of Houdini-like disappearance in Excel on Windows or Office 365, don't panic – there are some simple steps you can follow to track it down again.

Reasons for Vanishing Cursors

Before we dive into the solutions, let's quickly explore why this might be happening. Here are some possible reasons your cursor could be playing hide-and-seek:

1. Excel or Office 2013/365 updates: Sometimes, new versions of software can cause compatibility issues that lead to strange behavior like disappearing cursors.

2. Malware infections: Viruses and other malicious programs can corrupt system files responsible for mouse pointer visibility.

3. Graphics driver conflicts: Outdated or incompatible graphics drivers might be causing problems with cursor rendering.

Solutions

Now onto the good stuff – how do you get rid of this pesky problem? Here are some tried-and-tested solutions to try:

Solution 1: Force Quit Excel and Restart Your Computer

Sometimes, simply closing all instances of Excel and restarting your computer can resolve issues like these. To force quit a program on Windows:

a) Press the Ctrl + Alt keys together.

b) Click Task Manager in the menu that appears.

In the task list, find Microsoft Excel (or any other instance of Excel you want to close), right-click it, then select End Process or Force Quit depending on your version. Once all instances are closed, restart your computer by clicking Start > Restart.

Solution 2: Run Excel from Safe Mode

If force quitting didn't work, try running Excel in safe mode:

a) Right-click the Start button (lower-left corner) and click Run.

b) Type excel /safe into the box that appears (remember to include a space between 'excel' and '/'), then press Enter.

This will start Excel with minimal add-ins enabled. If your cursor reappears, you know one of those pesky add-ins is causing trouble – simply disable them until you find the culprit!

Solution 3: Check Your Mouse Settings

Sometimes, simple mouse settings can be behind this issue:

a) Click Start > Control Panel (or press Windows + I).

b. Double-click on Mouse & Trackpad.

c.) Under 'Pointer', ensure that 'Show pointer' is checked.

Additionally, try disabling any third-party cursor pointers you've recently installed – sometimes these can conflict with system settings and cause problems like this.

Solution 4: Update Your Graphics Drivers

Outdated graphics drivers might be responsible for rendering issues such as a disappearing mouse cursor. To update your graphics drivers:

a) Click Start > Settings.

b.) Under 'System', click on Device Manager (or press Windows + X).

c.) Expand the 'Display adapters' section, right-click on your current graphics driver and select Update Driver.

Follow the prompts to let Windows download and install any available updates for you. Once this process is complete, restart your computer and see if that resolves things!

If none of these solutions work, it's time to consider more drastic measures – such as reinstalling Office or even running a full system scan with an anti-virus program like Malwarebytes.

A disappearing cursor in Excel might seem like the end of the world at first glance. But don't worry; there are plenty of simple steps you can take to track it down and get back to what really matters – crunching numbers or creating killer spreadsheets! Remember: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade (and if all else fails, try reinstalling your entire productivity suite).

My cursor is gone